SHIVCHARAN LAL Vs. STATE OF RAJASTHAN

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THESE are two petitions, one by Shivcharan Lal and other by Chandra Dutta, both dismissed teachers of Rajasthan, against the State as well as the Director of Education, Rajasthan. Petition No. II has been made by Shivcharan Lal for a writ of mandamus, certiorari, quo-warranto or any other appropriate writ directing the State and the Director of Education, Rajasthan to reinstate him on his previous post. An alternative prayer has been made that in case the court be of opinion that consultation of the Rajasthan Public Service Commission is necessary for reinstatement the Government be directed by an appropriate writ, order or direction to refer the matter to the Public Service Commission. Petition No. 46 of 1950 has been made by Chandra Dutta with a prayer that a writ of mandamus be issued directing the Government of Rajasthan to reinstate him on previous job and that in case the court be of opinion that consultation of the Rajasthan Public Service Commission is necessary for his reinstatement the Government be directed by a writ of mandamus to refer the matter to the Public Service Commission. Petition No. 11 was made on the 16th May, 1950 and Petition No. 46 on the 28th September, 1950. The facts giving rise to both these petitions are the same and are given below.

(2.) BOTH the petitioners were teachers in the Government High School, Jhunjhunu, in October, 1949 and were thus in the service of Rajasthan. On the 4th October, 1949 a telegram purporting to be from the Education Secretary was received by the Heal Master of the School with the following contents : - "messrs Shivcharan Lal, Chandra Dutta Sainik and Mahavir Prasad Shukla suspended. They and Chand Mal Jain with Teachers' Attendance Register must appear before undersigned on Wednesday October 5 after noon. " The petitioners did not attend as required and on the 9th October, 1949 they were dismissed by an order of the Director of Education, Jaipur which reached the School on 19th October, 1949. This order ran as follows : - "messrs. Shivcharan Lal, Chandra Dutta Sainik and Mahavir Prasad Shukla Assistant Teachers Government High School, Jhun-jhunu under suspension are dismissed for non-compliance of orders asking them to present themselves before the Education Secretary on October 5th, 1949. "

(3.) COMING lastly to the alternative prayer of the petitioners that in case their first prayer is not granted, a writ of mandamus be issued to the State of Rajasthan for deciding the appeals afresh after consultation with the Public Service Commission, it is to be seen whether such a writ can be issued. Rule 8 of Jaipur Civil Service Regulations, Appendix L, provides an appeal against an order under Rule 7. Such an appeal was presented by each of the petitioners on the 14th November, 1949 to the Chief Secretary, Rajasthan Government. No orders were passed on either of the two appeals before the 16th May, 1950 when petition No. 11 was filed jointly by Shiv Charanlal, Chandra Dutta and Mahavir Prasad. No orders on appeals were communicated to either of the two petitioners before Chandra Dutta made his separate application No. 46 when it was decided by a Bench of this court that the two applicants could not file a joint application. On the 15th of December, 1950, however, information was received by the petitioners that the appeals had been rejected on the 23rd May, 1950. By the last mentioned date Rajasthan Public Service Commission Ordinance, 1949, and the Constitution of India had come into force. The Public Service Commission Ordinance came into force on 17th December, 1949 and the Constitution of India on the 26th January, 1950. By the Notification No. F-10 (30), Appts. (c) / 49, dated the 17th December, 1949 published in the Rajasthan State Gazette, Extra Ordinary, dated the 22nd December, I949, Shri Sharat Kumar Ghose was appointed as Chairman, and Pt. Devi Shanker Tiwari and Shri N. R. Chandorkar were appointed as Members of the Rajasthan Public Service Commission till the 25th January, 1950. Again after the Constitution of India came into force, Pt. Devi Shanker Tiwari and Shri N. R. Chandorkar were appointed as members of the Rajasthan Public Service Commission by Notifications Nos. F.-1 (8), Appts. (c)/5o and F.-1 (9), Appts. (c)/50 respectively, dated January 26, 1950, published in the Rajasthan Gazette, Extra Ordinary, of the same date. Thus the members of Rajasthan Public Service Commission had been appointed before the appeals of the petitioners were rejected on the 23rd May, 1940. The appeals ought, there-fore,to have been decided in accordance with Art. 320 (3) (c) of the Constitution which runs as follows; - "the Union Public Service Commission or the State Public Service Commission, as the case may be, shall be consulted on all disciplinary matters affecting a person serving under the Government of India or the Government of a State in a civil capacity, including memorials or petitions relating to such matters. "